Genetic diversity and structure of the Chinese lake gudgeon (Sarcocheilichthys sinensis)

Abstract

Mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b and d-loop sequences (2,137 bp) in 65 specimens of Sarcocheilichthys sinensis from five populations were identified as two lineages (I and II). The pairwise genetic distance between lineages I and II was 1.94%. SAMOVA analyses suggested that the best grouping occurred at three groups, Yangtze, Qiantang and Minjiang Rivers. High haplotype diversity (0.949) and low nucleotide diversity (θ_π = 1.067%) were detected. The results of the neutrality tests, mismatch distribution and approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) did not support demographic expansions. The results of phylogenetic analysis, statistical dispersal-vicariance analysis (S-DIVA), ABC, MIGRATE-N and the time to the most recent common ancestor (T_MRCA) indicated two colonization routes. First, before the Wuyi Mountains lifted, S. sinensis dispersed from the Yangtze River to the Minjiang River. Second, during glaciation, the continental shelf was exposed, which contributed to the dispersion of populations from the Yangtze River.

Keywords:

• Sarcocheilichthys sinensis
• migrate
• tectonic movements
• Wuyi mountain

Acknowledgments

We thank Prof. Po-Hsun Kuo, Department of Industrial Management, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan, for helping with the data analysis. We also thank the anonymous referees for their helpful comments.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no competing interests in the preparation or execution of this study.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China [No. 31872207] and Shanghai Universities First-class Disciplines Project of Fisheries.